Driver Claudio Auvarenga, 64, arrived early to be among the first to pass the coffin.
“You can travel around the world, you will only find one Zagalo. No one else in history has won four World Cups,” he told AFP.
Ileana Gaia, 66, Zagallo’s longtime assistant, called him “a man without equal.”
“He was a wonderful man, a hero,” she said.
After a public vigil and a private prayer vigil, Zagallo’s coffin was hoisted atop a bright red fire truck for the funeral procession through the streets of Rio de Janeiro as a small crowd of fans clapped and cheered.
He was then buried in the São João Batista Cemetery, the final resting place of some of Brazil’s most famous citizens.
After battling a number of health problems in recent months, Zagallo died of multiple organ failure on Friday.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva declared three days of national mourning starting Saturday.
Tributes have also been paid from the football world.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino called Zagallo a “tactical genius”, World Cup winners Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Romario paid tribute, and current Brazil and Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior called him a “legend”.
The only other men to win the World Cup as both a player and coach are Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer (1974 and 1990) and France’s Didier Deschamps (1998 and 2018).